Television receiver cabinet and cathode-ray tube mounting



Jan. 4, 1949. v. A. KAMIN ETAL 2,458,368

' TELEVISION RECEIVER CABINET AND CATHODE-RAY TUBE MOUNTING Filed Jan.10, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 ENTORS- .42 5 25 17 22 4. 08mm @Kvm'nZawrerzceMzZZiZzgZ mand i. [56 29 Jan. 4, 1949. v. A. KAMIN ET ALTELEVISION RECEIVER CABINET AND CATHODE-FAY TUBE MOUNTING Filed Jan. 10,1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS.

Z/ernon @Kzmim Jan. 4, 1949. v. A KAMIN ETAL, 2,458,368

' TELEVISION RECEIVER CABINET AND CATHODE-RAY TUBE MOUNTING 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 10, 1948 INVENTOR5. UernonQffhmm ZQzz/mnceJ/VPatented Jan. 4, 1949 TELEVISION RECEIVER CABINET AND CATHODE-RAY TUBEMOUNTING Vernon A. Kamin, Elgin, and Lawrence J. Mattingly and RaymondE. Wingert, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Motorola, Inc., Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illinois Application January 10, 1948 Serial No. 1,593

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to television receivers and moreparticularly to an improved cabinet and cathode ray tube mounting for atelevision receiver.

In the design of television receivers it is necessary to provide acabinet which is arranged so that the screen of the cathode ray tube canbe viewed and which also includes arrangement for mounting a loudspeaker so that the sound thereof can be heard. For most satisfactoryresults the loud speaker should be mounted very close to the screen ofthe tube and should be arranged so that sound is directed toward thepersons who are viewing the screen. The cabinet, of course. must alsohouse an electronic chassis upon which the circuit components of thetelevision receiver are mounted and it is desirable that the chassis beremovable from the cabinet, as necessary for servicing, completelyindependently of the cathode ray tube and loud speaker. As the cathoderay tube is relatively long, and a relatively large chassis is required,cabinets provided for television receivers have been relatively large.

There are several problems involved in providing a satisfactory mountingfor the cathode ray tube in a television receiver cabinet. In order tomeet underwriters requirements, suitable protecting means must beprovided so that in the event the tube should break, the particles ofglass from the tube would not be free to fly through the air and injurea person in the vicinity. As a very high vacuum exists in such tubes,breakage of the tubes might result in particles of glass being thrownwith great force causing serious injury. To eliminate this danger, atransparent protecting plate is required in front of the screen or faceof the cathode ray tube. This presents a problem as dust or otherforeign materials accumulate between the face of the tube and thetransparent protecting plate, and it is necessary to remove either thetube or the plate so that the surfaces thereof can be cleaned and theforeign matter thereby removed. It is also desirable to provide aresilient mounting for the tube so that the television receiver can bemoved or shipped without removing the tube from the cabinet. This would,of course, eliminate special packing for the tube which would berequired if the tube is shipped separate from the receiver.

- It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide animproved cabinet for a television receiver.

A further object of this invention is to provide a television receivercabinet including a resilient mounting for the cathode ray tube of thereceiver.

Another object of this invention is to provide improved means forprotecting the cathode ray tube of a television receiver and means forsealing the space between the tube and the protecting means to prevententry of foreign material therein.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a protectingplate for the face of a television receiver which also functions as alens to improve the picture produced by the tube.

A feature of this invention is the provision of a television receivercabinet having a one-piece front plate thereon including apertures forthe admission of sound from the speaker of the receiver and a curvedwindow which protects the face of the cathode ray tube of the receiverand improves the picture appearing thereon.

A further feature of this invention is the provision of a televisionreceiver including a resilient gasket between the face of the cathoderay tube and the protecting plate therefor which forms a resilientmounting for the tube and prevents entry of foreign material between theface of the tube and the protecting plate.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a televisionreceiver in which the cathode ray tube and loud speaker are mounted onthe receiver cabinet and the chassis for the receiver is removablysupported in the cabinet independently of the tube and speaker.

A still further feature of this invention is the provision of atelevision receiver including a rectangular cabinet having a height notsubstantially greater than the diameter of the cathode ray tube, a widthnot substantially greater than the sum of the diameters of the cathoderay tube and the loud speaker, and a depth not substantially greaterthan the length of the cathode ray tube.

Further objects, features and advantages will be apparent from aconsideration of the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the receiver cabinet in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the cabinet along the lines 22of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view along the lines 33 of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the cathode ray tube;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view through the loud speaker;

Fig. 6 is an exploded view illustrating the manner in which the frontplate is supported in the cabinet; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are detailed views illustrating a modified mounting forthe bottom rail of the cabinet.

In practicing the invention there is provided a cabinet for a televisionreceiver which is of rectangular configuration and of minimum size tocontain a cathode ray tube with the screen of the cathode ray tube and aloud speaker posijtioned adjacent the front wall of the cabinet. Aone-piece plastic front plate is provided which covers substantially theentire front wall of the cabinet and contains a window in front of thescreen of the cathode ray tubes and apertures in front of the loudspeaker. A resilient gasket is supported on the front wall of thecabinet in engagement with the front plate and forms a resilientmounting for the front end of the cathode ray tube. The neck of thecathode ray tube is supported fromthe top of the cabinet so that thetube is supported entirely by the cabinet. A chassis is provided for thetelevision receiver which rests on the bottom wall of the cabinet and isremovable therefrom independently of the cathode ray tube and the loudspeaker.

In Figs. 1 and 2 there is illustrated a television receiver inaccordance with the invention including cabinet l having a front wall H,top wall i2, bottom wall l3 and side walls it. The front wall IIincludes a top rail i and a removable bottom rail it which supporttherebetween a front plate H as will hereinafter be described. The frontplate ll may be of one-piece plastic construction including atransparent window portion 1.8 and apertures i9. As .is apparent fromthe drawings, the window is is positioned in front of the face of thecathode .ray tube 2-5, and the apertures H! are positioned in front ofthe loud speaker .21.v The cathode ray tube is supported at the frontend in a resilient gasket 22 supported in the front wall I i, and theneck thereof is supported by a bracket 23 which is mounted on the topwall 12 of the cabinet. The loud speaker 2i is also supported on thefront wall ll of the cabinet and includes a diaphragm 2 (Fig. 2) whichis positioned adjacent an aperture 25 in the front Wall. A suitable.gril-le cloth 26 is positioned on support 27 to be immediately back ofthe openings l 9 in the front plate ll.

As previously stated, the front end of the oathode ray tube is supportedby resilient gasket 22 which is mounted on the front wall i i of thecabinet. As best illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the gasket has a tubesupporting surface 30 of the same general configuration as the front endof the tube. The gasket also includes an outer annular groove 3! adaptedto fit over the edge of an annular opening 32 in the front wall to holdthe gasket on the front wall. The resilient mounting for the .tubepermits the receiver to be shipped with the tube in place. This is a.distinct advantage asseparate shipment of the tube requires packingthereof and installation of the tube after shipment of the receiver. Thegasket 22 fits tightly against the front plate l .and includes anopening 29 slightly larger than the window I8 but of generally the sameshape. The front plate I! includes a .ribbed section 33 around thewindow l8 which cooperates with the resilient gasket to provide a tightseal between the gasket 22 and the front plate l'l. This is for thepurpose of preventing foreign material from entering the space betweenthe front of the tube and the window which would produce an unattractiveI loud speaker.

appearance and would partially obstruct the view of the cathode raytube. The gasket 22 may be made of a resilient material such as spongerubber and should be of a relatively light color so that a shadow is notcausedon the face of the tube adjacent the gasket. The gaskets'houldpreferably be of 'a color substantially the same as that of the face ofthe cathode ray tube. As previously stated, the tube 20 is supported atthe neck portion thereof by bracket 23 mounted on the top 'wall 12 ofthe cabinet. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the bracket includes ablock 35 having a bottom surface 36 thereof curved to conform to theshape of the tube. A U-shaped strap 3-1, supported adjacent the top ofthe cabl net by bolts 38, holds the tube against the block 35 so thatthe neck portion of the tube is firmly supported to the top wall of thecabinet.

A chassis All is provided on the bottom wall I3 of the cabinet and issupported completely independently of the mounting of the cathode raytube and the loud speaker so that the chassis can be removed from thecabinet without changing the position of either the cathode ray tube orthe Control knobs M are removably positioned on shafts 42 which projectfrom the chassis l0. The knobs M may be easily removable so that theshafts 42 can be withdrawn when it is desired to remove the chassis ll]from the cabinet It. The chassis 40 includes electrical components suchas vacuum tubes '43, coils 44,

and power supply B5 which may be connected in from the cabinet. In orderto provide ventilation of the components of the-receiver on the chassis,openings 46 are provided in the bottom wall l3 to allow circulation ofair about the chassis (Fig. 2). Openings are also provided in the sidewalls of the cabinet adjacent the top thereof as illustrated in Fig. 6.These openings have been found to provide sufficient ventilation toremove the heat produced by a television receiver and thereby preventover-heating of the various components of the receiver,

Referring now more particularly to the front plate 11, this plate may beconstructed of transparent material which can be formed into the desiredconfiguration. A transparent plastic material such as methylmethacrylate has been found to be particularly satisfactory, but it isto be-noted that any other material which is completely clear to formahighly transparent window may be used. The material used should not beso soft that it scratches easily so that the front plate andparticularly the window would be easily defaced. As .is apparent fromFigs.'3 and 4, the portion of the front plate in front of the tube 20 iscurved, and in addition to providing a window for viewing the tube, alsoserves as a protector.

for the front of the tube. For this reason a very strong plasticmaterial is preferable so that the protective qualities will be great.The curve in the plate also increases the strength of the plate. Testshave indicated that plates made from methyl methacrylate will absorbvery heavy direct blows. Further, if the plate does crack, splinterswill not be producedas with safetyglass or other transparent materials.Methyl methacrylate is also a very clear material so that the brillianceof the tube is not materially reduced thereby. The window I8 may also beformed as a lens so that the picture which is produced on the curvedscreen on the face of the cathode ray tube 20 appears as a flat image.Further, the lens formed in front of the screen may be effective toenlarge the image produced on the screen of the tube so that it iseasier to view the image. As previously stated, the front plate I? alsocooperates with the resilient gasket 22 to seal the space between thewindow and the face of the cathode ray tube against the entry of foreignparticles. This eliminates the need for making the window removable sothat the face of the tube as well as the window can be cleaned. Theportion of the front plate extending in front of the loud speakerincludes apertures as previously described and the apertures may be inthe form of louvers as illustrated to provide a pleasing appearance. Theportions of the front plate other than the window I8 should preferablybe opaque and this can be accomplished by painting the back side of theplate over the entire surface thereof with the exception of the window I8. The use of a gold lacquer spray has been used and provides a verypleasing appearance.

In Fig. 6 there is illustrated the manner in which the front plate I! issecured to the cabinet I0. As previously stated, the plate is supportedbetween the top rail I5 and the movable bottom rail I6. It is to benoted from Fig. 6 that the front plate I! includes ribs 50 on the topand bottom edges thereof. These ribs are adapted to fit in grooves BIand 52 in the rails is and I6, respectively. The front plate I? isslightly bowed when it is formed and spaced along the ribs 50 thereofare wedge-shaped projections 53. It will, therefore, be seen that whenthe rib 5G is placed in the groove 5I in the rail I5, the straighteningof the plate to fit in the groove will cause the plate to remain in apredetermined position. The projection 53 will wedge into the edge ofthe groove to further hold the plate I I in position. The bowing of theplate will cause the ends 54 thereof to bear firmly against the sides I4 of the cabinet to thereby provide a very neat appearance. After thefront plate I I is in place the movable rail I6 can then be positionedin place with the groove 52 therein engaging the bottom projection 50 ofthe front plate. The wedge-shaped projections will hold the front platesecurely in position with respect to the rail as described with regardto the engagement of the plate I? at the top with rail I5. The movablerail I6 may then be secured to the cabinet as by screws 55 Which extendthrough the front wall I I of the cabinet into the rail I6.

In Figs. 7 and 8 there is illustrated a modified construction forsecuring the movable bottom rail I6 to the cabinet. In this constructionan L-shaped bracket 60 is secured to the mov able rail I6 by screws BI.This bracket extends on the inside of the side Walls I 4 of the cabinetand has a threaded opening 62 aligned with an opening 63 in the sidewall. A screw 64 is pro vided in a recess 65 in the side wall I4 andthreadably engages the opening 62 in bracket 60 to thereby hold the railIS in position on the cabinet. Brackets as disclosed will be provided oneither end of the rail I6 to engage the two side walls of the cabinet.The recesses 65 may be covered as by buttons 66 to provide a moreattractive appearance.

The portion of the front plate I I in front of the tube 20 is curved toconform generally with the'contour of the tube. This allows the tube toproject through the front wall II of the cabinet and. to be positionedvery close to the extreme front surface of the cabinet. As presentlyavailable cathode ray tubes are relatively long and as it is desired toprovide the receivers in relatively small cabinets, it will be apparentthat this construction permits the use of cabinets of minimum depth. Theheight of the cabinet in the structure shown is also limited b the sizeof the cathode ray tube, the cabinet being of only slightly greaterheight than the diameter of the cathode ray tube. This is accomplishedby providing the cut-out 49 in the chassis 40. The Width of the cabinetis limited by the sum of the diameters of the cathode ray tube 20 andthe loud speaker 2| and. is not substantially greater than this sum. Inorder to Provide a realistic effect in television receivers, it isessential that the soundbe directed from a point closely adjacent to thescreen and be directed toward the persons who are viewing the screen. Tofulfill these conditions, the speaker must be mounted on the front wallof the cabinet along with the screen of the tube and; therefore, it isessential that the front wall of the receiver be of sufficient size toaccommodate both the front of the picture tube and the loud speakerwhich reproduces the sound. In a cabinet actually constructed forhousing a receiver including a cathode ray tube with a screen seveninches in diameter, the over-all height of the cabinet was approximately9% inches, the width was approximately 16% inches, and the over-alldepth was approximately 16% inches.

It is, therefore, seen that there is provided a television receiver inwhich the components are arranged so that they may be housed in acabinet of minimum size. The cabinet is of simple rectangularconfiguration having a one-piece front plate which covers substantiallythe entire front of the cabinet. The front plate forms a window for thescreen of the cathode ray tube of the receiver and serves as a protectorfor the tube and also improves the picture appearing thereon. Theresilient gasket for supporting the front end of the tube provides asatisfactory support for the tube even during shipment so that thereceiver can be shipped with the tube in place thereby eliminatingspecial packing for the tube and the installation of the tube in thecabinet after shipment. The resilient gasket also prevents entry of dustin the space between the protector and the front of the tube toeliminate the need of cleaning the surfaces.

Although there have been disclosed certain embodiments of our invention,it is obvious that various changes and modifications can be made thereinwithout departing from the intended scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

We claim:

1.111 a television receiver, a cabinet, a plate extending across thefront of said cabinet of said receiver including a transparent sectionand an opaque ribbed border about said transparent section, a cathoderay tube supported in said cabinet and having the face thereofpositioned adjacent said transparent section, a resilient gasketsupported on said cabinet and positioned between said face of said tubeand said plate, said gasket forming a resilient mounting for sealingantenna face of; said tube and said plate to prevent, entry of foreignmaterial therebetween, said gasket being of substantially the same,vcolor as said face of said tube and forming with said opaque border amask about said face of said tube...

2. In a television receiver having a cabinet with an opening acrossthefront thereof and havingwithin the cabinet sound-producing means anda cathode ray tube with a curved front face, the combination includinga, onepiece plate of molded plastic material mounted at the openingacross the cabinet front and including a closed transparent portion infront of said tube-front-face and an apertured por-. tion in front ofsaid sound producing means, said transparent portion being curved toconform to the contour of the tube-front-face, and resilient gasketmeans intermediate the plate and said tube at the, curved front face,said gasket being of such a size to form a border at said front face andforming a resilient mount,- ing for the front of the tube. V

3. In the television receiver as defined in claim 2 said closedtransparent portion being of such a configuration as to form a lens forenlarging and flattening the picture indication visible at saidtube-front-face.

th sp c between. sa d 4. In electronic apparatus including means with ascreen for producing visual indications and including means forproducing sound, the.

combination comprising a cabinet for enclosing said apparatus includingat the front thereof a front plate mounted in the cabinet and having atransparent portion positioned in front of .said screen and a perforatedportion in front of said sound producing means, resilient gasket meansat the periphery of said screen and maintained between said peripheryand said front plate, said plate being slightly curved longitudinally ofsaid cabinet front and including a rib along at least one longitudinaledge, thereof, and a rail removably mounted on said cabinet at the fronthaving a straight depression therein engaging said rib of said platev tostraighten said rib and the plate to tension the same and hold theplate,

securelyin the cabinet.

5. In a television receiver, a cabinet having a front Wall with atransparent section therein, a

cathode ray tube supported in said cabinet and having the face thereofpositioned adjacent said transparent section, a resilient gasketsupported by said cabinet entirely inside said front wall engaging saidface and providing a resilient mounting for said face of said tube, saidgasket having a front thin. edge abutting said front wall of saidcabinet and positioned between said face of said tube and said wall sothat said tube face extends closely adjacent said wall, said gaskethaving an enlarged portion at the back thereof with a groove therein,and means ongaging said groove for supporting said gasket inside saidcabinet.

6. A television receiver having a cabinet with walls, at, the top,bottom and front thereof, said front wall including a closed transparentportion, a cathode ray tube in said cabinet, supporting means secured tosaid top wall, resilient means engaging the inside of the front Wall ofsaid cabinet adjacent said closed transparent portion,

said cathode'ray tube having the front face thereof positioned at saidclosed transparent portion and engaging said resilient; means, saidsupporting means and said, resilient means combining to 8 supportsaidcathode, ray tube in said cabinet, and

a chassis including circuit components of; said television receiver,said chassis: being supported on said bottom wall of said cabinetandremovs, I able therefrom independently of the cathode: ray

tube. I 7. A television receivercom-prising a, cathode.

ray tube having an enlargedfront portion, loudspeaker with a front faceportion, a rectan gular walled cabinet the inside vertical dimension ofwhich is substantially the same as the vertical dimension of saidenlarged front portion} and the inside horizontal dimension of. which isapproximately equal to the sum of the horizontal dimension across saidenlarged portion and the] horizontaldimension across the face of saidloud speaker, said'eabinet having a frontv wall witha closed transparentportion on one side and an apertured portion on the other side,,areceiver chassis supported on the bot om wall of said cabinetandcovering substantially the entire area of said bottom wall, said chassishaving a cut-out portion therein on the side adjacent said trans-'parent portion of said front wall, said chassis including asection onthe side opposite to said cut out portion adjacent said front wall,components on said chassis section having controls extending throughopenings in said front wall of said cabinet to be operated at the frontof said cabinet,

said loudspeaker being positioned above said chassis section at saidapertured portion, and said cathode ray tube being positioned in saidcabinet with said enlarged front portion at-said closed transparentportion of said front wall and ex tending into said cut-out portion ofsaid chassis.

8. A television receiver employinga cathode ray tube and comprising awalled cabinet correspond? ing in vertical dimension substantially tothe largest vertical dimension of a' cathode ray tube" therein, saidcabinet having a front wall with a closed transparent portion and aportion with openings therein, a chassissupported on the-bottom wall ofsaid cabinet, said chassis having a cut-out portion on one side thereofadjacent'said front wall, adjustable circuit components mounted on theside of said chassis opposite to said one side adjacent said front wall,said. adjustable components having operating controls extending throughsaid openings in said cabinet front wall for operation from the front ofsaid cabinet, and a cathode ray tube in-said cabinet having an enlargedportion and a screen therein positioned adjacent said closed transparentportion of said cabinet front wall, said cathode ray tube enlargedportion extending in the space provided by said cut-out portion of saidchassis-and corresponding in its largest vertical dimensionsubstantially to the inside vertical dimension of the cabinet. I r

9. A television receiver comprising a cathode ray tube having anenlarged front portion, 'a walled cabinet the inside vertical dimensionof which is substantially the same as the diameter of said enlargedportion of said tube, said cab-inet having a front wall with a closedtransparent portion and a portion with openings therein, a

resilient mask engaging said front Wall and p01 sitioned about saidtransparent portion, a re ceiver chassis supported on the bottom'wall ofsaid cabinet, said chassis having a cut-out portion therein on the sideadjacent said transparent portion of said cabinet front wall, andcircuit components mounted onsaid chassis on the other a side thereofadjacent said front wall of saidcabinet, said components having controlsextend'- ing through said openings in said front of said cabinet, saidcathode ray tube being positioned in said cabinet with the enlarged endportion thereof extending into said cut-out portion of said chassis andengaging said mask.

VERNON A. KAIVHN.

LAWRENCE J. MATTINGL-Y.

RAYMOND R. WINGERT.

REFERENCES CITED Number Date 1,624,042 Duggins Apr. 12, 1927 1,737,824Brower Dec. 3, 1929 1,922,504 Smith Aug. 15, 1933 Number Number NameDate Flaherty July 7, 1936 Flaherty May 31, 1938 Busch Dec. 10, 1940Blechman July 15, 1941 Edme Feb. 10, 1942 Young Apr. 18, 1944 PattersonNov. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 24, 1936Great Britain Aug. 25, 1937 Great Britain Apr. 23, 1937 Great BritainDec. 4, 1940 France May 22, 1939 France May 12, 1941

